I have been a quote collector and quote monger for at least as long as I've been an atheist and probably a good deal longer. My admiration for those who enjoy reputations as wordsmiths extends even further back, whether we're talking about John F. Kennedy's assertion: "We choose to go to the moon," George Santayana's warning: "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it," or James T. Kirk's deft observation when faced with the dauntingly huge First Federation ship: "Not chess, Mr. Spock ... poker!"

The realm of atheist activism has had its own share of verbal craftsmen and women, from Madalyn Murray O'Hair's: "An atheist believes that a hospital should be built instead of a church." to Aron Ra's succinct: "If you can't show it, you don't know it."

Regardless of the topic, these are words which are capable of fomenting inspiration, reflection, and sometimes even action. They can educate and illuminate the human condition and allow us to better know ourselves. That said, here is an open invitation to share those words which have been particularly meaningful or impactful or timely or just special to you for one reason or another.

Let's share those words and have fun!

One bit of clerical business: please hold your quotes in the comment area below to 20 lines or 200 words. One comment should not so dominate the Home page of this group that no other comment is visible. That way, the briefer comments and quotes of all participants are more likely to be seen, read, and appreciated. If you have a long quote or commentary, create a post, please.

Discussion Forum

There has been a major shot across President Donald Trump's bow and it came, believe it or not, from Fox News. Specifically, it came from Fox reporter and commentator Neil Cavuto, in response to a…Continue

Last week Loren shared this quotation in the group comments:But here steps in Satan, the eternal rebel, the first freethinker and the emancipator of worlds. He makes man ashamed of his bestial…Continue

On 31 May, 2018, Joan Denoo posted a most excellent quote from David Hume: That quote was well deserving of a response, which is the following:The most preposterous notion that H. sapiens has ever…Continue

"I do not believe that just because you're opposed to abortion, that that makes you pro-life. In fact, I think in many cases, your morality is deeply lacking if all you want is a child born but not a…Continue

Man is so built that he cannot imagine his own death. This leads to endless invention of religions. -- Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land

Something that's unknown can be scary, and death is a biggie as it comes to that. I will admit that overcoming fear of death is no easy thing, and talking about it now is likely different than doing so when it's on the doorstep. Death at least has the good grace to be real, unlike any god ever posited.

Either God can do nothing to stop catastrophes like this, or he doesn't care to, or he doesn’t exist. God is either impotent, evil, or imaginary. Take your pick, and choose wisely.

The only sense to make of tragedies like this is that terrible things can happen to perfectly innocent people. This understanding inspires compassion.

Religious faith, on the other hand, erodes compassion. Thoughts like, "this might be all part of God’s plan," or "there are no accidents in life," or "everyone on some level gets what he or she deserves" - these ideas are not only stupid, they are extraordinarily callous. They are nothing more than a childish refusal to connect with the suffering of other human beings. It is time to grow up and let our hearts break at moments like this. -- Sam Harris

The beginning of this quote is familiar to many of us who follow Harris and his attitudes toward religion. The end, though – "grow up and let our hearts break" – strikes me as extraordinary, as well as very damned true. We need to learn to allow ourselves to HURT, to recognize our own injury at the pain of another, to resolve not just to salve that hurt in others and ourselves but to do all in our power to disallow said hurt ever to happen again.

Barker made this statement while discussing the issue of the Koine Greek word, "pistis," which roughly translates to "faith." Have to say, I about died from laughter. So many believers want to allege there is a god, but not one of them can drag said deity out of the woodwork and SHOW him to us.

As Peter Berger has noted, the strategy of apologizing for Christian faith by trying to demonstrate its social utility is always eventually self-liquidating. Sooner of later people realize that a great many of the supposedly practical and secular benefits of the Christian religion can be had more easily without religion...The logic of practical atheism may well be more deeply ingrained in the evangelical tradition than conservatives perhaps have realized. -- Craig M. Gay, The Way of the (Modern) World: Or, Why It's Tempting to Live As If God Doesn't Exist

I've said it many times: there is nothing of value that can be done with religion that can't be done WITHOUT religion.

Life is a great big canvas. Throw all the paint you can at it. -- Danny Kaye

I remember Danny Kaye from White Christmas, of course, as well as his other films and the variety show he had in the 60s. He seemed to be a man who was full of delight and wanting to share that delight with as many as he could ... which makes the above quote self-explanatory.